My father’s favorite book in the Bible was Romans. He loved the middle chapters where Paul talks about the struggle to do what we know is right but failing. I picked up a commentary of Romans that said Romans is probably one of the most influential epistles in the Bible as it seeks to explain basic tenants that came out of the resurrection. The Pentecost season that we are now entering is a time when we reflect on the meaning of living believing that Christ is risen and alive in my world and in my life today. Paul’s long sentences scare me but let us spend some time gleaning its truth for us today. But first let us look at the context.
The author is believed to be Paul, formerly known as Saul, the persecutor of early Christians. He is the voice of an “outsider” who became an “insider.” He is writing to the church in Rome, the center of the Western civilized world as it was known then. Civilizations in Central America, Asia or Africa were unknown, perhaps points of trade. But Rome was where the political power lie and its language was far spread. Paul knows of the church in Rome that is surely composed of Jews and other nationalities as church in capitals are prone to be. He is writing to a more cosmopolital congregation, probably ethnically mixed, and already exposed to some teachings of Christianity. Our churches today are facing the challenges of multicultural congregations too. Paul writes to introduce himself and who he is.
“Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus…” (Romans 1:1)
I have only begun the first sentence of chapter 1 and I already am challenged to stop and think. Paul calls himself “a slave.” That is a loaded statement. We put the whole American history into those words and the trauma and injustice and powerlessness those words imply. Paul will later pull out his long list of credentials as an educated, trained, well known somebody by human standards but he opens his letter understanding himself as “a slave.”
What word would you use to describe your relationship with Jesus Christ? We like “child of God,” “friend of God,” “servant of God,” or perhaps “creation of God.” My family might say, “adopted by God.” Few of us self identify as slave. Draw two columns. Put “slave” at the top of one and your word at the top of the other. How are the two words similar and how are they different? Sit with your title now and talk with God about the rights and privileges it implies. How does your word prepare you to face into the unknown future? Let’s thank Christ Jesus for his presence with us in our day no matter what our title.
On the Way to Wonder 